A Beginner’s Guide to Chivalry
Here’s a quick and easy beginner’s guide to chivalry as it was understood by the knights who lived it and wrote about it.
New Medieval Books: Byzantine Cavalryman vs Vandal Warrior
A military history of the Byzantine Conquest of North Africa in 533-536. The book begins by examining both the Byzantine and Vandal forces, then offers details about the campaigns and battles, and ends with an analysis of the Byzantine victory.
John Hawkwood’s Greatest Victory: The Battle of Castagnaro
A look at how John Hawkwood won the Battle of Castagnaro, fought on 11 March 1387.
Prince Hal’s Head-Wound: Cause and Effect
The future King Henry V was hit by an arrow to the face at the Battle of Shrewsbury – how did he survive? Research by Michael Livingston explains what happened in one of the most remarkable cases of battlefield surgery from the Middle Ages.
The Battle of Othée (1408)
When the citizens of Liege go into revolt, they believe that they can fend off the armies of the nobles. Then they go up against John the Fearless and his professionally-trained Burgundian forces.
Byzantines and Fatimids at War: The Battles of the Orontes (994) and Apamea (998)
Their armies would meet in battle twice, and in both cases the Byzantine commander would make a fateful decision that would lead to his defeat.
Could the Crusader States ever have survived?
So how then can we go about tackling a counter-factual question such as “Could the Crusader States ever have survived”?
Was Charlemagne a Mass Murderer?
This entry for the year 782 in the Royal Frankish Annals is one of the most debated topics of Charlemagne’s reign. Did the ‘Massacre of Verden’ actually happen with 4500 people being killed in a single day?
Bow & Blade Live!
A live recording of Bow & Blade from the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds. In this lighthearted episode with lots of audience participation, Michael Livingston and Kelly DeVries answer questions about the Hundred Years’ War, battlefields, and why William Wallace is a bad guy.
Mobile empire-building: Babur’s campaigns against the Afghans
By Timur Khan The Baburnama, the autobiography of Zahir al-Din ‘Babur’ (d. 1530), is extremely rich in personal reflections, observations, and details about…
10 Famous Swords of the Middle Ages
Perhaps no other item defines the Middle Ages as much as the sword. Here is our list of ten swords – real and fictional – which became famous during the Middle Ages.
Q&A #6: How does a man-at-arms become a mercenary?
Michael and Kelly answer your questions in this somewhat abbreviated edition of Bow & Blade. Topics include the Ottoman siege of Rhodes, reading Vegetius on campaign, and historical fiction.
Ten Medieval Warrior Women
There are many examples of women who took up arms or commanded armies during the Middle Ages. Here is our list of ten medieval warrior women.
Brother vs brother in 15th-century Castile: The Battle of Olmedo in 1467
During the mid-fifteenth century, the Kingdom of Castile was involved in a bloody set of three large battles to determine whether its king would prevail over the nobles in a kind of Spanish Wars of the Roses.
Gunpowder, Cannons, and Military History with Cliff Rogers
During the Late Middle Ages, warfare began to change with the rise of gunpowder weapons. But is every medieval gunpowder recipe actually effective? This week, Danièle speaks with Clifford J. Rogers about his gunpowder experiments at West Point Military Academy, how small variations might affect each recipe, and why a modern military academy needs a medievalist.
Siege of Tournai (1340)
After his victory at the Battle of Sluys, Edward III leads a coalition of England, Flanders, Hainaut, Brabant and the Holy Roman Empire against the French city of Tournai. In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael Livingston and Kelly DeVries tell us about a siege involving complex alliances, starvation and the money problems of a medieval ruler.
Battle of Roncevaux Pass (778)
On August 15, 778, the forces of Charlemagne find themselves in battle with the Basques. Many years later, this encounter inspired a famous story known as the Song of Roland. In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly discuss the historical and the legendary when it comes to this battle.
The Battle of Sluys (1340)
In the early stages of the Hundred Years’ War, the English and French naval forces fight a battle just off the coast of…
The Battle of Falkirk (1298)
William Wallace comes up against King Edward I in a fight for Scotland. Will the battle be like what you see in the movie Braveheart? This episode of Bow and Blade has Michael and Kelly looking at the English-Scottish wars of the late 13th century.
Why was 11th-century England so conquerable?
The fifth Q&A episode of Bow and Blade. Michael Livingston and Kelly DeVries answer your questions. Topics include: Kings on the battlefield, Brunanburh, Richard III, raids from Iberia, and who would be the medieval person to share a drink with.
Women in the Crusades with Helen Nicholson
From supplying food and medical treatment, to lending emotional and financial support, to occasionally engaging in combat, women were to be found in and around every major conflict of the Middle Ages. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Helen J. Nicholson about the role of women in the most famous clashes of the medieval period: the crusades.
The Siege of Acre (1291)
It’s the event marking the end of the Crusader States in the Near East. In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly talk about how the Mamluks conquered the city of Acre in 1291.
Warfare in Medieval Iceland
How did Icelanders raise troops, conduct campaigns, and fight battles, both on land and sea?
The Battle of Poitiers (1356)
England and France are again battling it out in this episode of Bow & Blade. Michael and Kelly focus on this battle from the Hundred Years’ War, where Edward the Black Prince would face off against King John II